Every year, Gangneung Danoje Festival had many tourists, expatriates and Korean nationals overcrowding the area. Why? This festival was designated as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2005 and also an “Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 13” in Korea in 1967. The festival serves to preserve the folk culture of the Joseon Dynasty and has been a popular festival since 1975. Gangneung Danoje Festival is one of the most precious asset which humanity must preserve and pass along to future generation. The festival preserves the original culture of Korea’s traditional festival. It is the successor of today’s traditional cultures and the educator of the true Korean spirit. It is the largest traditional festival still performed in Korea today.

The Gangneung Danoje Festival has been deep-rooted in local community and transmitted for over one thousand years. It is the only traditional festival which preserves the original form of any of the modern day festivals. The festival is the process of the rebirth towards human heritage to be safeguarded and revitalized. This festival includes rituals such as the Daegwallyeong Guksa Seonghwangje (a tribute to Monk Beomil who is believed to protect Gangneung) and Yeongsinje (a deity greeting ritual). Folk performances, wrestling, swing riding, and tug-of-war competitions follow these rituals. During the Danoje Festival, visitors are also invited to participate in other various events such as watching a traditional wedding ceremony, making surichui rice cake, washing their hair in iris-infused water, and drinking alcohol offered to the gods. There are also regional dialect contests and other cultural programs.

What is Dano? Dano is one of the three most-celebrated holidays in the nation, the other two being New Year’s and Thanksgiving. It was originally established as a day for people to share traditional food together in order to stay healthy and fit for the summer. It was also a time to hold rituals to pray for a year of abundant harvest. Even today, traditional festivities and folk events are held in Gangwon-do Province during the days leading up to Dano (May 5th on the lunar calendar) to commemorate and prepare for Gangneung’s Danoje Festival.

The shamanic rituals of the Gangneung Danoje Festival preserves the essence of traditional Korean shamanic performance art, such as dance, music, song, dress, and ritual stories.

Shamanic rituals are carried out by several female shamans and a large number of musicians.The head shaman sings the shaman song in time with the rhythm of the double-headed drum. About there to eight musicians strike cymbals and gongs, creating a varied rhythm as the shaman performs the shaman song or dances. Various deities are worshiped in the Gangneugn Danoje Festival, but the main ones are the royal tutor male and female tutelary deities.

Gangneung Gwanno Gamyeongeuk

Gangneung Gwanno Mask Drama

31 May ~7 June from 10 a.m to 7:30 p.m (Arimadang)

The Gangneung Gwanno Mask Drama is pantomime that was traditionally performed by the male and female servants of the government office. The characters are the yangban aristocrat, the new bride, two sisiddakddagi, and two jangjamari.

Ten or so musicians perform the accompaniment. The story consist of five scenes : pastime scenes, love scenes, interruption scenes, suicide scenes, and reconciliation scenes.The Gwanno Mask Drama is currently being actively handed down by intangible cultural heritage practitioner groups, students club groups, and housewife groups.

Namjang

Festival Market

The largest market in the entire country is held during the Gangneung Danoje Festival period, and local products and hand crafts from each region are sold. This makes economic profit and the exchange of information about a variety of products possible.

The Korean term nanjang(literally meaning “place of chaos” or “place of confusion”)is used to describe the marketplace, where not only are goods sold out but wrestling matches, agricultural copetitions games, circus performances and a variety of free gift events are held. Thus, nanjang does participants experience communitas and chaos.

Globalization of the Gangneung Danoje Festival

Gangneung has been produceing and distributing English pamphlets, DVD, and educational materials on Gangneung’s intangible cultural heritage to make the Gangnerung Danoje Festival a world-famous cultural festival and has established an Inter-City Network around the world through the International Tourism and Folk Festival, the international Round Table of Mayor, and the International Workshop of Local Government Administrators to further promote the Gangneung Danoje Festival to the world.

Sinjubitgi

Brewing the sacred liquor

3 May at 10 a.m / Chilsadang

The Gangneung Danje Festival begins on the fifth day April of the lunar calendar when the mayor and people of Gangneung offer the rice and malt with which the sacred liquor is to be brewed. The sacred liquor is brewed at Chilsadang, the ancient government office of Gangneung, after shamans perform Purification ritual to cleanse the ritual site of all the impurities.

On this day the entire Gangneung-city enters a period of abstinence and in particulaly the priests and shamans who would carry out the ceremonies purify their minds and bodies.

Daegwallyeong Sansinje, Daegwallyeong Guksa Seonangje

Ritual to Daewallyeong Ridge Mountain Deity

Ritual to Daewallyeong Ridge Royal Tutor tutelary Deity

13 May from 10 a.m to 12 p.m / Daegwallyeong Ridge

Both the rituals are offered at the shrines situated in Dangwallyeong Ridge on the fifteenth day of April on the lunar calendar. General Kim Yusin who defended the nation, became the mountain deity of Daegwallyeong Ridge after his death and Royal Tutor Beomil, who was born in Gangneung and was a highly virtuous and prominent monk of Seon(Zen) Buddhism, became the royal tutor tutelary deity of Daegwallyeong Ridge after his death and functions symbolically as a local guardian deity. The rituals are attended by the people of Gangneung, shamans and officiating priests. After the rituals, the sacred tree(sinmok) is selected and brought down to Gangneung. During the Dano Festival, the sacred tree, as a symbol of the deities, is the object of many prayer’s supplications.

Guksan Seonangje, Haksan Seonangje

Ritual to Gusan Seonangje Tutelary Deity

Ritual to Haksan Seonangje Tutelary Deity

13 May from 2 p.m to 5 p.m

Gusan in Seongsan-myeon village and Haksan village in Gujeong-myeon

The procession descends the 99 hills of Daegwallyeong for the worshipping of the ritual to Gusan Tutelary Deity in Gusan village. Gusan was the gateway to Daegwallyeong Ridge. The shrine situated here was dedicated to the son of Daegwallyeong Ridge Royal Tutor Tutelary Deity.

The ceremonial ritual is followed by the shamanic ritual(gut) performed by the female shamans. After having lunch here, the procession headed towards Haksan Tutelary Deity Shrine in Haksan village. Haksan is the hometown of Royal Tutor Beomil, who became the Royal Tutor Tutelary Deity.

Following the ceremonial ritual, female shamans perform the shamanic ritual to pray good fortune.

Following a simple parking of sacrificial food and drink, the procession visits Seokcheon Well and the Stupa of Gulsansa temple site in the village and leaves for downtown Gangneung. The procession visited this hometown reminds that the people of Gangneung that the legend of Royal Tutor Beomil is based on actual historic fact.

Daegwallyeong Guksa, Yeoseonangsa Bonganje

The ritual of enshrining deity at Daegwallyeong

Ridge Female Tutelary Deity Shrine

13 May from 6 p.m to 7 p.m

Female Tutelary Deity

Shrine in Hongje-dong

Bonganje is the ceremonial ritual of enshrining Royal Tutor Tutelary Deity together with the Female Tutelary Deity at the shrine in Hongje-dong. The Female Tutelary Deity is Lady Jeong, a daughter of a Jeong family and became Royal Tutor Tutelary Deity’s wife on the fifteenth day of April according to the lunar calendar, and so even today this is the day on which the royal tutor tutelary deity is carried from Daewallyeong Ridge to the shrine of the female tutelary deity in Hongje-dong.

After the two deities are enshrined together, a ritual is performed. Historical figures, such as General Kim Yusin, Royal Tutor Beomil, and Lady Jeong were reborn as mythical figures and became guardian deities of the Gangneung region, forming the spiritual foundation of the Gangneung Danoje Festival.

Yeongsinje is held on the third day of May on the lunar calendar at the Royal Tutor Female Tutelary Deity Shrine before bringing the male and female tutelary deities to the shamanic ritual site Dano altar by Namdaecheon Stream. The citizens carry Dano Festival lanterns to welcome the tutelary deities and lead them down to the ritual site.

The Dano Festival lanterns are set adrift on Namdaecheon Stream as prayers are offered.

Jojeonje Morning ritual

Jojeonje from 1~5 June at 9 a.m / Dano altar(Danojedan)

Jojeonje is held on the Dano altar every morning at 9 o’clock from the fourth day to the seventh day of May on the lunar calendar.

Since the ritual is dedicated to praying for a bountiful harvest and tranquility in the Gangneung and Yeongdong area, the head figures of organizations in Gangneung become the officiating priests and take turns in serving as the Choheongwan, Aheongwan and Jongheongwan.

Songsinje

Sending off ritual, Returning ritual

5 June at 6 p.m / Dano altar(Danojedan)

On the evening of the seventh day of May on the lunar calendar, sending off ritual is performed to bid farewell to the male and female tutelary deities.

Following the Confucian ritual for sending off the deities, the returning ritual is performed to make sure that the tutelary deities have been served well by the rituals.

The ritual is completed by burning everything that was used in the rituals, including the sacred tree, the paper flowers, the octagonal lanterns, the hand lanterns, and the boat.

There is also an experience program package that can accommodate to your entire weekend at the festival. Please see below for the prices and packages.

NOTE: ALL DATES CAN CHANGE DUE TO FESTIVAL ORGANIZATION’S CONDITIONS. PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE OR CALL THEM BEFORE PLANNING TO ATTEND THIS FESTIVAL. IN THE CASE THERE ARE ANY CHANGES THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH US AT admin@everydaykorea.com. THANK YOU!